Traffic and life on the road in Chennai

This is a discussion on Traffic and life on the road in Chennai within Street Experiences, part of the Buckle Up category; Originally Posted by ampere
Why did the flyover construction at Arcot road Poonamallee High road stop? What is the reason? ...

Why did the flyover construction at Arcot road Poonamallee High road stop? What is the reason? I guess traffic situation remains the same on Arcot road ? All the way from Vadapalani?

Which flyover are you referring to? If it is about the one at Vadapalani junction, then the work is on and should be completed very soon. Or, if you are referring to the one at Porur junction, it seems the proposal is a nonstarter for now!

Which flyover are you referring to? If it is about the one at Vadapalani junction, then the work is on and should be completed very soon. Or, if you are referring to the one at Porur junction, it seems the proposal is a nonstarter for now!

Hi what happened to Porur flyover? Construction was in full swing few months back. Now no activity. Any idea if this has been stalled again?

Which flyover are you referring to? If it is about the one at Vadapalani junction, then the work is on and should be completed very soon. Or, if you are referring to the one at Porur junction, it seems the proposal is a nonstarter for now!

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajivr1612

Hi what happened to Porur flyover? Construction was in full swing few months back. Now no activity. Any idea if this has been stalled again?

I was referring to the fly over (here) which started a few years back and then later the whole project was stalled. I remember times it was painful to cross Arcot road / Mt Poonamallee High road junction.

I was referring to the fly over (here) which started a few years back and then later the whole project was stalled. I remember times it was painful to cross Arcot road / Mt Poonamallee High road junction.

This is the flyover at Porur junction. Since, they may need to disturb the existing Metro Water Distribution lines from Porur lake to the city, the flyover plan needs to redrawn again and hence, may be a non-starter!

I'm finding it difficult to understand the mentality of the MTC bus drivers in Chennai. They dont care about the two wheeler's, they move from any lane to any lane without caring about two wheeler's(this i observed in OMR road).

i think i need some advice on how to drive and avoid the idiotic bus drivers/bus, most importantly pedestrians.

i'm from Chennai, last time i was riding a two wheeler in Chennai was in 2004, i moved to Bangalore and moved back to Chennai recently. i'm finding driving difficult in chennai. May be i need to get used to the traffic for some more time..

FYI - The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee will visit Tamil Nadu on September 9 and 10, 2016. On September 9, 2016, the President will present Colours to the Defence Services Staff College at Wellington (Nilgiris).
On September 10, 2016, the President will review the passing out parade of the summer term at Officers Training Academy, Chennai. On the same day, he will also attend the Centenary Celebrations of Karur Vysya Bank at Chennai.

Be prepared for traffic jams in the evening today from the airport all the way till Rajbhavan and tomorrow morning as well.

I'm finding it difficult to understand the mentality of the MTC bus drivers in Chennai. They dont care about the two wheeler's, they move from any lane to any lane without caring about two wheeler's(this i observed in OMR road)

While the MTC drivers are indeed rash, it is not like they are the only ones. Almost everyone (drivers/riders/pedestrians) are at fault in some way or the other.
- You have bikers cutting across the front of cars in a way which can only be termed suicidal.
- You have pedestrians crossing the road wherever they want. Even when it is a green for vehicles.
- You have car drivers driving with phone in hand, weaving in and out of lanes or slowing suddenly etc.
- The mini-buses honk away to glory even when the road ahead is full of traffic, adding to noise pollution & stress.

Regarding how to deal with MTC drivers, stay away from them. They have nothing to lose. The Volvo drivers have the benefit of automatic transmission, power steering and a/c comfort and are masters at racing, forcing others out of the way etc. Drive / ride with a clear sweeping view all round, observing other road users and anticipating what they could do next.

That said, while there is lot to improve, Chennai is still way better than many cities in traffic and road-behaviour. You will get used to it in due course.

I'm finding it difficult to understand the mentality of the MTC bus drivers in Chennai. They dont care about the two wheeler's, they move from any lane to any lane without caring about two wheeler's(this i observed in OMR road).

i think i need some advice on how to drive and avoid the idiotic bus drivers/bus, most importantly pedestrians.

i'm from Chennai, last time i was riding a two wheeler in Chennai was in 2004, i moved to Bangalore and moved back to Chennai recently. i'm finding driving difficult in chennai. May be i need to get used to the traffic for some more time..

Any advice is highly appreciated.

I am at the same timeline as yours w.r.t CHN-BLR-CHN.
Had to commute around 35 kms to office one way through GST and always have to weave through it.
One thing I realized is if the road is wide enough (if you are lucky), stick to the centre lane, since the left lane is for two wheelers/share autos, right lane is for trucks/heavy trucks, containers/tata ace types etc and also for dreaded outstation buses.
Gave up, decided to take up office transportation (board the TT, listen to some songs/videos, take a nap in an A/C comfort).
I take my car only one day in a week now.
The other side of the grass is always green.
In Bangalore, the traffic just STOPS and here it moves (read zig-zag).

More specific question: When should I go to Palavakkam Beach to watch? Sunday afternoon would probably suit me.

Might have a tourist visitor to take too. Locals: If I go from my house, it's walking distance, but if I pick someone up from Mylapore first... obviously the main Palavakkam beach road will be an absolute no-no for driving; I'd think that the Palavakkam Anna Salai side would be too --- would it be stupid to bring the car on the Kottivakkam Jaganathan Street side, as close to the beach as I could park?

I have travelled extensively by MTC and almost invariably try to stay close to the driver and observe how they drive.I pity them , that is all . Driver ergonomics in buses is a big zero plus the wheels are almost never aligned.

They use their ORVMs very well and that is how they manage to move in dense traffic.Yes , the sheer size of a bus makes even the slightest deviation look menacing,but one has to be careful;that's all.

I would add
a)sluggish drivers plus
b) some motorists following signals and some breaking them
to SupremeBaleno's pain list.

Driver ergonomics in buses is a big zero plus the wheels are almost never aligned.

I travel by MTC atleast twice a week and completely agree with the bad ergonomics part. I don't think there can be a driver's seat worse than the ones in MTC buses, in terms of comfort, pedal-reach etc.

Also, if you noticed, most buses will have a slab of stone placed near the clutch-pedal for the driver to rest his left foot on, due to the bad pedal placement and seat ergonomics. As in the pic below. Have always wondered whether the coach-builder delivers the bus to MTC with this stone-slab or is the accessory added by MTC.

Ofcourse, most drivers don't even use the clutch while changing gears. Used only while starting off or coming to a stop.

Checkout the pedestrians crossing the road in front of Chennai Central station when it is green for vehicles. Unmindful of the signal and the speeding vehicles, they just run/walk across. It is a miracle no one gets hurt, since this happens all day.

This is the flyover at Porur junction. Since, they may need to disturb the existing Metro Water Distribution lines from Porur lake to the city, the flyover plan needs to redrawn again and hence, may be a non-starter!

Work has resumed on this flyover and I've seen the progress over the last few months although it is pretty slow. Friends say that they had started the work almost 6 years back! But even if this flyover is built, it isn't going to ease the traffic blocks at Porur. The block would move a junction further ahead which has 5 intersections.

The day before yesterday, it took us 1 hour to reach Iyyappanthangal from DLF IT Park when we left around 8 PM. That is 6 km! Best to travel through this route before 6:30 PM or after 9:30 PM. Anywhere in between, you're done for!

Work has resumed on this flyover and I've seen the progress over the last few months although it is pretty slow. Friends say that they had started the work almost 6 years back! But even if this flyover is built, it isn't going to ease the traffic blocks at Porur. The block would move a junction further ahead which has 5 intersections.

The day before yesterday, it took us 1 hour to reach Iyyappanthangal from DLF IT Park when we left around 8 PM. That is 6 km! Best to travel through this route before 6:30 PM or after 9:30 PM. Anywhere in between, you're done for!

Just today I noticed work has started on the center portion. Hope things pick up.
O.T. I stay in Iyyappanthangal. Are you around this area? Let me know. Thanks.

Checkout the pedestrians crossing the road in front of Chennai Central station when it is green for vehicles. Unmindful of the signal and the speeding vehicles, they just run/walk across. It is a miracle no one gets hurt, since this happens all day.

This happens inspite of the fact there is a subway at that junction for the exact purpose. I've seen even at 440 am in the morning one bolts across the road than using the subway.

The same happens on OMR (close to the bus stops and train stations) as well, where the speeds are much higher. The foot overbridges at all 3 stations are almost empty all the time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tht'snotME

I'm finding it difficult to understand the mentality of the MTC bus drivers in Chennai. They dont care about the two wheeler's, they move from any lane to any lane without caring about two wheeler's(this i observed in OMR road).

I moved back in 2009 after a 4 year stint. I don't think the problem is any different from BMTC either, they pull of the same stunts. The problem is on the other side too, I've seen two wheelers don't respect the blind spots of a bus (or for any vehicle for that matter).

There is also a problem of unplanned bus stops as well, one such I can quote is the U turn they take at Saidapet bus stop on Mount Road, the bus stop immediately after turning right from SP Road to OMR outside Kasturiba Nagar station.

Work has resumed on this flyover...The block would move a junction further ahead which has 5 intersections. Best to travel through this route before 6:30 PM or after 9:30 PM. Anywhere in between, you're done for!

Porur flyover has been a lifetime project, work's been happening since the time I came to Madras in 2009 (or even before). The intersection you are talking about is the narrow section towards DLF from the roundtana? I can't guess where they would even have the entry point on that direction. Its already a narrow section, or could end up like the unscientific Usman Road flyover on Kodambakkam High Road.

6:30 PM itself is late, especially if you are planning to get out of city. It starts becoming a no-go zone from 4:30 PM onwards.

I went to the idol immersion at Palavakkam beach, this afternoon. Met my friend from UK there. We had a good time watching the proceedings, even though it was not very busy by that time.

Then, after walking back to my house, I drove him to Mylapore just after 5pm. Approaching ECR from the west, just north of the beach road on the other side, I was shocked to find all the idol traffic on the south-bond side, and all other traffic, two-way, on the North-bound side.

I needn't have been worried: The traffic control was superb! With police every few yards, keeping people in lane and in line, the traffic moved as well, if not better than normal!